Chapter 16 lesson 1
Revolutions in the Americas
By: Logan Parker, Josh Roerig,
Rachael Axmann, and Jason
Ogurkis.
The Roots of Conflict
– For many years the thirteen British colonies in North America governed
themselves and every colony had its own legislature to make laws and
set taxes.
– Great Britain was deeply in debt so they decided to tax the colonies,
which made the colonists furious.
– On a winter night in 1770 colonists in Boston, Massachusetts began
heckling British soldiers and throwing rocks at them, which caused the
soldiers to fire at the crowd killing several protesters. This event is
called the Boston massacre.
– After the Boston Massacre new laws were made that made the colonists
even angrier.
– On the night of December 16, 1773, 60 colonists disguised as Native
Americans boarded a tea ship and threw the tea overboard case by
case. This event known as the Boston Tea Party caused the British to
close the port and send soldiers to patrol the streets.
The American revolution
– After Great Britain sent over troops to make sure colonists obeyed
parliament’s laws, the colonists decided to declare their independence,
so they wrote the declaration of independence.
– On July, 4 1774 the declaration was approved and now the Americans
had to win their independence on the battlefield.
– The American Revolution lasted 5 long years with bitter fighting in every
colony.
– One key victory came in 1777 when the Americans won the Battle of
Saratoga.
– The victory at Saratoga convinced France that that Americans could win
the war. France then became an ally of the Americans.
– With the support of the French, General George Washington trapped a
British force at Yorktown and forced them to surrender. Finally in 1783
the British accepted the U.S. as an independent nation.
Revolution in Haiti
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In 1790 all of the lands south of the new United States were colonies of
Europe. Spain ruled most of this the territory.
However the revolt did not appear In a Spanish colony it occurred in Haiti.
Most Haitians worked long hours on French plantations as slaves.
In 1791 enslaved Africans revolted against French rule with Toussaint
L’Ouverture as their leader.
Under Toussaint’s leadership, the slaves were able to drive French forces
from the island.
In 1802 when French forces tried to retake Haiti Toussaint L’Ouverture was
captured and thrown into prison.
The French failed to retake island and in 1804 Haiti became the first
independent colony in Latin America.
The revolution spreads
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Much of Latin America still remained under Spanish rule though.
Father Miguel Hidalgo, a priest in Dolores, Mexico called a meeting by
ringing the church bell and asked Mexicans to revolt against the Spanish.
His words set off a struggle for freedom in Mexico, but the struggle for
freedom did not end there.
Father Miguel’s words echoed through Latin America and became the
rallying cry for Latin Americans who wanted independence.
Latin Americans were not allowed self-government officials appointed by the
Spanish king made all the important decisions, and Latin American
Merchants were only allowed to trade with Spain and transport goods on
Spanish ships holding back Latin America’s economic growth.
Independence for Mexico and
central America
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Father Miguel Hidalgo’s army began marching towards Mexico City.
Father Hidalgo was captured by the Spanish and executed in 1811, but
other leaders kept up the fight.
José Maria Morelos was a farm worker who studied to become a priest.
Morelos frightened many Mexicans by announcing he would seize land and
give it to the peasants.
José Maria Morelos was captured and executed in 1815.
Agustin de Iturbide an army officer who had once supported the Spanish led
a revolution in 1820.
In 1821, Iturbide fought off the Spanish and proclaimed independence for
Mexico and then made himself emperor of Mexico.
In 1823 Iturbide was removed from power and Central Americans joined
together and formed the United Provinces of Central America.
Independence for South America
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The struggle for South American independence lasted many years.
In northwestern South America a brilliant young leader named Simon
Bolívar dreamed of freeing South America from Spanish rule.
For 15 years he led his army through steamy rainforests and frigid
mountains.
In the south Jose de San Martin forced out the Spanish.
In Chile Bernardo O’Higgins organized an army. San Martin led his army
through the rugged mountain passes of the Andes to join O’Higgins army,
and together the two leaders defeated the Spanish.
Peru became independent in 1818. Peru declared its independence in 1821
but lacked the strength to drive out the Spanish.
In 1824 Bolivar’s army crushed the Spanish led army.
Finally the struggle that began with Father Hidalgo was now complete.
Almost all of Latin America was now politically independent.
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